OPEN TO UNDERGRADUATES ONLY
In this course we will examine the notion of deviance. Included in
our inquiries will be questions such as: What behaviors and people
become defined as deviant? Why and how do these definitions of
certain behaviors and people as “deviant” arise? How do notions of
what is and is not deviant vary across cultures and over time within
the same culture? What might cause a person to engage in deviant
behavior? What are the effects of engaging in behavior defined as
deviant, or of being labeled as a deviant person? How do societies
respond to deviant behaviors or identities; that is, how
does “social control” operate in response to deviance? How
effective and appropriate are various means of social control?
Theories that seek to answer these questions will be studied and
applied to specific behaviors and identities, such as those related
to sexuality, gender, drug use, violence, mental illness, corporate
crime, political activism, and other social phenomena.